Marking devices



y 2, 1956 l. s. GOTTSCHO 2,746,380

MARKING DEVICES Filed 001. 16, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l IHI INVENTOR. law5'. 60775010 y 1956 1. s. GOTTSCHO 2,746,380

MARKING DEVICES Filed 001,. 16, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' My. j m, as fINVENTOR. A? S. GorrSc/m May 22, 1956 Filed Oct. 16, 1952 l. S. GOTTSCHOMARKING DEVICES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I /6 g W13 YHJh W 6 g Liz if? o LIZ 62/56 d8 INVENTOR. /R/) 5. Gov-S0 1 ATTOIQ/VEY "This invention "relates toimprovements in marking devices and is particularly directed to devicesfor apply- "indidiatocontinuouslyor intermittently moving arti c'leswhereinjthefm'arking device is actuatedby the movementofthe articles.

The present invention isparticularly well adapted for United States P tnt 7 markin'g' packages and thelike carried by a continuously movingconveyor and will be described in connection With suh use. However, itis to be understoodthat the devices embodying this invention may beemployedin thernarking of'any moving object. o t V ln'ma'rking devicesof the .characterindicated, as =here- 't'cifoie made,a rotary printingor imprinting drum or cylinder isemployed h'avingtype or indicia on thepen n ery thereof for-"applying an inked or indented impression to thesuccessive articles as the latter are move d ip'a'st the markingstation. The drum is rotated by frictional contact of "each movinarticle with the drum, and, as

the" article moves out of 'co'ntact'with the drum, the returned to itsstarting or normal position by spring means. In certain 'of'th'esedevices, a rigid stop is ,pro-

any :relative .movement between the contacting, surfaces vided forlimiting the return movement o'ftlie drum so that'when the drum, or aprojectionflthereon, engages the rigid'stop 'a'shockis'imparte'd tothedevice and this causes vibrations to be produced which result inblurring of theimpres'sion at the start of the next operating cycle, asWell as "causing the devicejto Wear more rapidly.

' In UnitedStates Letters PatenttdIra'S. 'Gottscho and "Kenneth H.Kuett, No. 2,592,558, issued April 15,1952, a returnr'n'echanisml'l'as'been disclosed which-includes a resilient brake 'forlimiting "the return movement" of {the 2,746,380 Patented M y 22,

article during the initial contact therebetween which causes blurring of'the impression, applied to the article;

Finally, with the return or repositioning mechanism where- ,to'foreprovided, the marking drum continues to rotate so long as,it isincontact with an article. Therefore, if the article to be marked has alength, in the direction o fumovement, which is greater than thecircumference of themarking drum, the drum is rotated for more than :onerevolution and the marking or iudicia is repeated along the length-ofthe article. This is particularly sobjectionable .if the length of thearticle is not a'whole multiple of the circumference of the marking.drum .for, in that event, a 'fragment of -.the marking may be appliedto the article. i .Accordingly, .it is .an object of the presentinvention to provide a marking device of the described character having.an arrangement for returning the marking drum successive articles isrelatively small.

.Another object is to ;provide a marking device of the describedcharacter having means on the marking drum projecting into the path ofan article arriving at" the marking station forengagement by the article:to produce the "initial rotation. of the marking drum while avoidingoftthe article and i Still another object .is eto provide a mar-kingdevice oi": the described character with anarrangement for returning themarking drum to its original position after returned .pos'ition, eventhough contact with the-article drum after amarking cycle and foraecuratly jpositiom 1 ing the drum forth'e commencement 'of 'the nextmarking cycle. The "return mechanism therein disclosedhas Lt'headvantage of being capable of repositioning the marking drum whether thepreceding fmark'ing cycle ?has required a complete "revolution, severalrevolutions or only a tram tion. of "a revolution of the marking drum;However,

for return ofthe marking 'drum'toits initial ,pos ition'may,

exceed the period of time available between the instant when the'trailing end of an article leaves the marking station, and therebyreleases the marking drum fforits return movement, and the in'sta'ntwhenthe ieaainge a of the article'n'ext in line arrives "at the"marking'station,

Thus, the 'in'arking drum may not have "completed the return movement toitsorigin'al position 'at the time when an article arrives atthe'mar'kings'tation for commencementof a ma'rking'cycle so 'that'themarking applied during 'the 's'ubseqnen't cycle will "not be properlyregistered continues, so that only a single marking s pplied -to each,of .the articles.

A Zfurther object of thepresentinvent-ion is to provide a-rnaiikingdevice having a.return mechanism with ithe above advantageouscharacteristics which :issimple Sand inexpensive to manufacture .andreliable in its operation. In accordance with .the ,present invention, amarking device "fulfilling the above .objects may 5 include -a rresilient return mechanism of the .kind disclosed .in United StatesLetters Patent No. 2,592,558, issued April v15, 1952, -to Ira 'S..Gottscho and Kenneth .Kuett, .for returning the marking drum .to itsoriginahposition when the articles being marked have lengths, in thedirection of move ment, which are substantially smaller than thecircurn- 'ference of the marking drum, Further, :the marking drum is.Jformedwith a .smooth' flattened peripheral POI? tion arrangedto.corifront the article-at the marking xstation when lthedmm is in-itsoriginal or startingposition. An actuatingarrnds.rockablymounted on thedrum to project at one end beyond the flattened peripheral portion ofthe.marking .drum, and an adjustable abutment of the arm relative atethe drum -in thedireetionoftrotation of the latter forapplying themarking. Resilient relative to the article, Further, if the 'articlearriving "at the mark ing 'stati'on m'akescontactf with "the drum beforemeans are connected to the actuating .arm for continuously urging (thearm against the adjustable abutment and the latter is positioned so thatthe projectingend of the ar'mfis disposed adjacent the trailing endofithe flattene'd peripheral portion of the drum when thefarm contacts.the abutment. "Thus, an articlearriving" at the marking station engagestheprojecting end lot the actuaitinga'rm to rock the'latter, andthearmeitects initial rotation or "the marking drum Ithroug'h itscontact. with ilre abutment onf'the l'drum. As'the actuating armmovesoutof "the path of'theartiele moving past the maiking inder results fromthe frictional contact of the periphery of the drum with the movingarticle. However, when the marking drum completes a full revolution, thefiattened peripheral portion thereof contacts the surface of the articlebeing marked and the latter slides over the flattened peripheral portionwhich prevents further rotation of the marking drum. When the article issliding past the flattened peripheral portion of the marking drum, thearticle depresses the actuating arminto a position within the peripheralconfines of the drum and, as the article moves away from the markingstation, the actuating arm is again spring urged to its projectingposition to be engaged by the leading end of the article next in linefor the commencement of a new marking cycle.-

Other and further objects, features and advantages of this inventionwill be manifest from the following description of an illustrative.embodiment thereof and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a marking device embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the marking device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, 011 an enlarged scale, of the markingdrum and associated mechanism included in the device of Fig. 1, with apart of a side of the drum being broken away to expose the internalmechanism;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of during various phasesin the operating cycle of thedevice embodying the present invention.

' Referring to the drawings in detail, and initially to Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, there is shown a marking device, generally indicated by thereference numeral 10, which is constructed in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The marking device 10 is associatedwith a conventional conveyor 12 on which articles 14a and 14b to bemarked are conveyed past the marking device disposed at one side of theconveyor. While the marking device 10 is illustrated as being arrangedto mark a side surface of each of the successive articles, it is to beunderstood that the present invention may be applied as well to devicesfor marking the top or bottom surfaces of the articles. A verticallyextending back board or guide 16 may be provided adjacent the cona ballbearing assemblies 20 (Fig. 4) on a vertical stub shaft 22. The shaft 22is received in a bore 24 formed in one end of a support arm 26 and issecured relative to the arm by a set-screw 28. The opposite end of thesupport arm 26 is swingably mounted on a vertical shaft 30 which issupported by a suitable structural element outer surface, carriessuitable means, forexample, a resilient grooved assembly 44 (Fig. 2),for securing type or indicia thereto. Preferably, the outer periphery ofeach of the top and bottom end plates is of a diameter only slightlysmaller than that of the raised portions of the type or indicia, so thatthe peripheries are frictionally engaged by the articles to effectrotation of the drum, and frictional engagement by the type or indiciato rotate the drum is not relied upon, thus eliminating blurring LQI theimpression applied to the articles resulting from slippage between thetype or indicia and the articles. To further reduce the possibility ofslippage between the type or indicia and the articles, the peripheriesof the top and bottom end plates .38 and 40 are preferably milled orknurled, as indicated at 46 in Fig. 2, thereby increasing the frictionalcontact with the articles.

In order to limit the swinging movement of the support arm 26 in thedirection toward the conveyer so that the drum 18 will be free to beengaged by the articles without being capable of swinging so far acrossthe conveyor between successive articles as to obstruct the passage ofthe articles onthe conveyor, 21 finger 48 is secured on the top of shaft30 and extends radially therefrom to be engaged by an abutment 50 formedon the support arm 26 (Figs. 1 and 2). If desired, the finger 48 may beadjustably secured to the shaft 30, for example, by a set screw(not'shown) so that the limitation on the swinging movement of the arm26 may be varied to accommodate articles of different widths on theconveyor 12.

When an inkedimpression is to be applied to the successive articles onthe conveyor, an inking roller 52 having an internal ink supply source(not shown) is supported on the arm 26 for rotation about an axisparallel to that of the drum 18 and in rolling contact with the type orindicia on the drum whereby rotation of the marking drum effects inkingof the type thereon. In accordance with the present invention, aperipheral portion of the marking drum 18 is flattened and covered witha preferably smooth straight plate 54 spanning between the top andbottom end plates 38 and 40. Thus, when the smooth, straight plate 54 isengaged by an articleon the conveyor, the article slips along the plate54 and rotation of the marking drum is arrested. The flattened portionof the periphery of drum 18 and the plate 54 thereof are arranged sothat they are facing toward the conveyor 12 when the drum is in itsinitial position for commencement of a marking cycle.

In order to provide for the initial rotation of the drum fromitsjposition at the commencement of a marking cycle, an actuating arm 56is provided above the top end plate 38. The actuating arm 56 isswingably mounted adjacent oneend on a bushing 58 (Fig. 4) which iscarriedby a bolt 60 extending centrally through the top end plate 38.The free end of the actuating arm 56 travels along a circular are whichhas a radius substantially equal to the radii of the curved parts of theperipheries of top and bottom end plates 38 and 40.

7 Thus, when the actuating arm 54 is angularly positioned 32 which maybe a part of or secured to the conveyor ,7

mechanism, and a torsion spring 34 is interposed between the support arm26 and the shaft 30 for urging the arm 26 to swing in the directionmoving the drum 18 toward the conveyor 12 and into frictional engagementwith the articles being moved by the conveyor.

The drum 18 is hollow and in the illustrated construction includes acylindrical side wall 36 and substantially circular top and bottom endplates 38 and 40 which may be removably secured to the edges of the sidewall 36. The bottom wall 40 is formed with an upwardly extending,central hub 42 which receives the outer races of the bearing assemblies20. The cylindrical wall 36, -on its to extend towardthe flattenedperipheral portion of the drum, the free end of the arm 56 projectsbeyond the plate 54, while the arm 56 is within the peripheral confinesof the drum when it is angularly positioned away from said flattenedperipheral portion of the drum.

Further, the device embodying the present invention includes an abutmentassembly, generally indicated by the reference numeral 62, positioned atthe side of the actuating arm 56 facing in the direction of rotation ofthe drurn 18, as indicated by. the arrows 64 on Figs. 1

' 5 and 3, to limit the swinging of arm 56 relative to drum 18 in thedirection of rotation of the latter during the marking operation. Theabutment assembly 62'includes ablock 66, secured to the top end plate 38by suitable fastenings 68, and having a bolt 70 extending threadablytherethroughto bear against the arm 56. A nut 72 is preferably providedon the bolt 70 to engage against of a new marking cycle. It is apparentthat the arrangement herein described .for attaining theproperpositioning of the marking drum ings, the operation of the devicedescribed above will now becxpla'ined. Assuming that the articles on theconveyor 12 are being moved past the marking device in the direction ofthe arrows 80, it will be seen that;

the drum is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, asviewedon thedrawing. As the article 14a (Fig. 5,) moves away from the markingstation, that article slides over the flattened peripherial portion ofthe drum 18, and the actuating arm 56 projects radially beyond thatflattened portion into the path of the advancing article 14b next inline which is approaching the markin Fig. and to cause the initialrotation of the drum 18 by reason of the contact between the arm 56 andthe abutment assembly 62 on the drum. As the flattened l peripheralportion of the drum 18 moves away from the side of the conveyor, todisengage the arm 56 from v the leading end of the article 14b beingmarked, th'e side surface of that article engages the *knurled rims ofthe frictional contact with'the article by the spring 34 (Fig.

l 2) During the phase of operation illustrated by Fig.

7, the type or :indicia carried by the drum apply the marking tothe sidesurface of the article.

, When the length of the article being marked is greater than thecircumference of the drum 18, the trailing end portion offthe article14b willfstill be disposed adjacent the marking station as the drumcompletes a full revolution to again position the flattened peripheralportion I station. 'lhus, the front end of the article 14b engages theactuating arm 56 to rock the latten'as shown :Finallwwith the"consumerism embodying the present invention, the marking drum isrotated through only'bne While the described structure operatessatisfactorily to return themarking drum to its original position at theend of each marking cycle and to register thedrum with each article atthe beginning of the marking cycle so "long as each article ha's alength which is not much smaller than the circumference of the markingdrum and the spec'- ing between successive articlesdoes not exceed thelength of the flat plate 54 on the drum, difliculties do arise when thedescribed structure is employed 'for the marldn g ot relativelyshortarticles or of articles which are Widely spaced apart on theconveyor. Thus, if relatively short articles are being marked, thearticles will move out of engagement with the marking drum before "a comlete revolution of the latter has been effected and lthe drum will notbe returned to its'original, position. r If the articles are widelyspaced apart on the conveyor, the articl'e which has been mark-ed willmove *oif the flattened peripheral portion of the drurn before thearticle next in line has made contact with the projecting end 'ofactuating farm 5-6, andthe drum will be free to rotate from its returnedl drum, as in Fig. 7, with the drum 18 being-urged into of the drum 18parallel to the path of the articles 'on the conveyor, as in Fig. 8.Ihus, the trailing end portion of the article will slide along thesmooth plate 54 so that no further rotation of the drum is eifected, andthe actuating arm 56 will be rocked away from the abutment assembly '62by the article 14b to a, position :in

. which the free end of arm 56 does .not project beyond the periphery ofthe drum (Fig; 8) As the trailing end .of the article 1412 moves alongthe smooth plate 54, 'the'actu'atingarm 56 isreleased by the article(Fig. 9.)

andfis again urged against the abutment assembly 62 with its free endprojecting radially beyond the plate 54 and into the path of the leadingend of thearticle 14c next inlin'e on the conveyor. Thus, when thearticle J14'ejreaches themarking station, as in Fig, 10, the drum I'Sfisagain properly positioned for the commencement atithe beginning of amarking cycle does not require any great space "between thesuccessivearticles on the condisposed on a conveyor to provideefiicientutilization of Y the conveyor. Further, in the described construction,

the rnarking drum is at rest when an article on the conveyor reaches themarking station and the initial movenie'n't of the drum by the articleis achieved through 7 contact against the projecting end of the arm 56rather than by frictional contact with bearing rims on the drum so thatslippage of the article relative to the drum during acceleration of thelatteris avoided and blurring or imprtipei' registr' ation of theapplied marking ispreventedr marking operation.-

position thereby disturbing the're'gistratio'n of the drum with thearticle approaching the marking station.

Accordingly, it is preferable to use the structure described above inconnection with apparatus as disclosed in United States Letters PatentNo. 2,592,558, to Ira S. Gottscho and KennethH. Knet't, issued April 15,1952', so 'thalt thepatented apparatus will efie'ct thereturn of thedrum to its original .positionandwill resiliently hold the drum in thatposition when the articles are too short or too widely spaced apart forthe erfici'ent operation of the deviceherein descrlibedt r Therefore, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4, the "marking device It) .is preferably providedwith a stationary bar =82 which is mounted onthe upper end of hired"shat-t 22 and is keyed thereto. The bar 82 has a shoft arm -84 and -'along arm 86 extending in opposite radial directions from the shaft 22. Apulley 88 is 'ro t atably mounted "oh theshort arm $4 and a similarpulley 90 is rot'altably mounted on a log or boss 9-2 at the interior ofthe side Wall 35. A resilient-loop 94, which may be in the term of acontinuous coil tension spring, engages around the pulleys88and90"to'continuously urge the drum to a position in *which asingle-straight line extends through the axisof rotation of thedrum 1 8and the axes of "the pulleys '88 and90. l

In adjusting the marking device for operation, the set screw 28 isloosened to permit rotation of shaft-2213115 bar 82 until :a straightline extends through the axis of rotation tot the drum 1 -8 and theatresof the pulleys 88 and 90 when the drum is disposed with its flattenedpefiph eral portion parallel to the direction of movement or thearticles on the conveyor. The set screw 28 is then'tight .ened, so thatthe flattened peripheral portion "ofthe drum Will /effect return of thedrum to the same position, in the manner herein described, as theposition to which the resilient loop *94 returns thedr um, in'thejmanner set forth in the above mentioned patent. Thus, even thoughthe articles being marked are relatively short, the drum 18 is returnedto its original position at the end of each In order 'to arrest movementof the drum upon "its return-to the initial position, resilient brake orstop means are provided, which 'by way of example, may comprise anarcuate spring member 96 having one end secured on the inside 'ot'the side wall 36 by a screw 98, and having its other end bent inwardly or thewall (Fig 3).-*T I lre arcua te portion for the spring member 96 is inthe path engaged by that arm when the drum is returned to its initialposition. Thus, the resilient brake described above will preventoscillation of the drum when the latter is returned to its originalposition by the action of the resilient loop 94, and will also preventdrift from that .initial position when the spacing between successivearticles on the conveyor exceeds the length of the flattened peripheralportion of the drum.

If relatively short articles are to be marked, so that the articlesvmove out of engagement with the marking drum before a completerevolution of the latter has been effected, the use of the apparatusdisclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,592,558, to Ira S.Gottscho and Kenneth H. Kuett, issued April 15, 1952, may be avoided byproviding more than one flattened peripheral portion on the markingdrum. The number of flattened peripheral portions on the marking drumcorresponds to the relationship between the circumference of the drumand the length of the surface of the article being marked. Thus, if thelength of the article being marked is slightly less than one-half thecircumference of the marking drum, the marking drum is provided with twodiametrically opposed flattened peripheral portions so that a flattenedperipheral portion willengage an article being marked as such articlereaches and leaves the marking station. It is to -be understood that themarking drum, when pro vided with more than one flattened peripheralportion for the purposes described above, has an actuating arm andabutment assembly associated with each of the flattened peripheralportions and each constructed in the same manner as theparts '56 and 62,respectively, described above. Thus, as each of the articles arrives atthe marking station it will engage the actuating arm associated with thefiattened peripheral portion which is then disposed parallel to the'pathof travel of the articles and thereby cause initial rotation of themarking drum. Further, as the marked article moves away from the markingstation, the trailing end portion of the article will slide over thenext fiattened peripheral portion of the marking drum to position thelatter for registration with the following article. Thus, relativelyshort articles can be marked in succession by a marking drum ofsubstantial diameter, and the marking drum will be accuratelyrepositioned at the commencement of each marking operation. A markingdrum constructed with a plurality of flattened peripheral portions will,of course, be provided with marking elements disposed between successiveflattened peripheral portions so that a marking drum having twoflattened peripheral portions will carry two sets of marking elements.

In view of the foregoing description, it will beseen that the presentinvention provides an improved marking device of the character indicatedwhich operates efliciently and reliably to mark articles of differentsizes and of different spacing on the conveyor, and which is simple andeconomical in construction. The device can withstand long and continuedusage Without requiring maintenance or repair.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has i been illustrated anddescribed, it is to be understood that riphery thereof, said drum havinga fiat peripheral portion which acts to arrest rotation of the drum whenslidably engaged by an article, means rotatably supporting said drum atthe marking station for contact at its periphery with the successivearticles, said supporting means being movable toward and away from thepath of the articles, yieldable means urging said supporting means inthe direction toward the path of the article so that peripheral contactof said drum with the successive articles is maintained as the flatperipheral portion and the remaining arcuate peripheral portion of saiddrum are-disposed for contact with the article, an arm rockably mountedon said drum and extending radially from the axis of rotation of saiddrum a distance substantially equal to the radius of the curvedperipheral portion of said drum so that said arm projects radiallybeyond said flat peripheral portion when it is disposed within theangular limits of said flat peripheral portion, stop means on said drumfor limiting the rocking of said arm relative to said drum in thedirection of rotation of the latter during marking of the articles, saidstop means being disposed so that said arm, when engaged thereby, ispositioned within said angular limits of the flat peripheral portion andadjacent the trailing end of the latter, and yieldable means acting onsaid arm to continuously urge the latter against said stop means sothat, as an article approaches the drum along a path parallel to theflattened peripheral portion of the latter, the article engages said armdisposed against said stop means and moves the arm before the article toeffect initial rotation of said drum.'

2. In a marking device of the class described; the combination accordingto claim 1, wherein said flat peripheral portion of the drum is smoothand the remainder of the periphery of said drum is provided withroughened surfaces so that an article may slip easily relative to thedrum when contacted by said flat peripheral portion and so that suflicient frictional contact is provided when an article engages saidremainder of the periphery to effect rotation of said drum withoutslippage of the article relative to said drum.

3. In a marking device of the class described; the combination accordingto claim 1, wherein said stop means includes a block fixed on said drum,and a tangential bolt threadedly extending through said block forengagement with said arm so that the limitation on the rocking of saidarm may be varied.

4. In a marking device of the class described; the combination accordingto claim 3, wherein said yieldable means acting on the arm includes atension spring member connected at its opposite ends to said block andto said arm.

5. In a marking device ofthe class describe-d for marking successivearticles conveyed past a marking station;

the combination of a marking drum for carrying marking elements on theperiphery thereof, said drum having a flat peripheral portion to arrestrotation of the drum when said flat peripheral portion is engaged by anarticle, a support arm, means carrying said support arm for swingingabout one end thereof toward and away from the path of thesuccessivearticles, means rotatably mounting said drum on the other end of saidsupport arm, yieldable means acting on said support arm to continuouslyurge said other end thereof in the direction toward the path of thearticles so that the axis of rotation of the drum is displaced laterallyof the path of the articles for maintaining contact of the drum with thearticles as the flat and arcuate peripheral portions of the drum moveinto position for contactwith the articles, article engageable meanscarried by said drum and yieldably projecting in the radial directionbeyond said flat peripheral portion adjacent the trailing end of thelatter to be engaged by the leading ends of the successive articles, andstop means engaged by said article engageable means in the projectingposition of the latter to limit the movement of the article engageablemeans relative to sai-d'drum in the direction of rotation of the latterso that the engagement of an article with said article engageable meansis effective to produce initial rotation of said drum,

6. Ina marking device of the class described; the combination accordingto claim 5, wherein said article engageable means includes a radial arm,means mounting the inner end of said radial arm on said drum for rockingrelative to the latter about an axis concentric with the axis ofrotation of said drum, said arm having a radial dimension 'substantiallyequal to the radius of the curved peripheral portion of said drum,spring means causing said radial arm to swing relative to 'said drum inthe direction of the normal rotation of the latter, and said stop meansis locatedon said drum and limits the swinging of the arm in saiddirection to a position in which the outer end of said arm is adjacentand projects radially beyond .said trailing end of the flat peripheralportion. 7. In a marking device of the class described for mark- 1 ingsuccessive articles; thejcomb ination of a marking station, a markingdrum carrying marking elements on the periphery thereof, means rotatablysupporting said drum at the marking station for peripheral contact withthe successive articles so that the latter act to rotate the drum whilethe marking elements on the drum apply markings to the articles, meanson a peripheral portion of said drum rest rotation of said drum duringsuch contact, means continuously urging said drum in the directiontoward the articles so that the drum is maintained in peripheral contactwith the articles throughout its rotation, retractable means yieldablyprojecting beyond the periphery of the drum at said chordal planethereof for contact by the successive articles to elfect initialrotation of the drum,

means continuously urging said drum to a predetermined rotationalposition in which said retractable means is disposed for contact withthe articles, and stop means limiting the movement of said retractablemeans relative to said drum in the direction of normal rotation of thelatter so that the engagement of said retractable means by an article iseffective tocause the initial rotation of said drum.

8. In a marking device of the class described for applying markings tosuccessive articles conveyed past a marking station; the combination ofa marking drum having a flattened peripheral portion and adapted tocarry marking means onthe remaining arcuate peripheral portion thereof,means rotatably supporting said drum at the marking station formovementtoward and away from the path of the successive articles, meansyieldably urging said drum in the direction toward the path ofthe-articles said drum and a retracted position included within thedefining a chordal plane for contact with the articles to arradialconfines of said drum, yieldable means continuously urging saidretractable means to its projecting position, and stop means operativewhen said retractable means is in its projecting position to limit themovement of the retractable means relative to said drum in the directionof rotation of the latter so that the engagement of said retractablemeans by an article approaching the drum effects initial rotation of thelatter.

References Cited the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,596,416Erickson Aug. 17, 1926 2,130,898 Ogden Sept. 20, 1938 2,443,791 IelfieldJune 22, 1948 2,592,558 Gottscho et al Apr. 15, 1952 2,636,436 Mann Apr.28, 1953 2,664,816

Gibson Jan. 5, 1954

